Jace
Afew days later I’m back in the yoga studio, watching Kayla’s fine ass demonstrate a move called downward-facing dog.
She pushes her butt into the air, and my mouth goes dry.
I long to run my hands over that rump and pull it toward me, but I can’t let my fantasies get out of control here, not when I’m wearing sweatpants in a room full of men.
To my right, Grant gives a low grunt, and my gaze snaps to him.
“What you staring at?” I hiss.
Grant came to the retreat a few months back for one of the weeklong programs and never left. He’s a solid guy, and we’ve become friends, but I hate that he’s here watching Kayla. I hate that they all are.
We’re at the back of the class this time.
I got here late because my appointment with the doctor ran over.
They’re still not ready to discharge me, but the doc was happy I’m doing the yoga classes.
Told me it would help calm my mind, whatever the fuck that means.
All it’s doing is reminding me how long it’s been since I had a woman and making my blood boil that a room full of men are watching Kayla as she pushes her ass into the air.
The class has gotten popular in the week since the yoga studio opened. She runs three classes a day, and I try to be there for all of them. There’s not much else to do at the retreat, and watching Kayla is a better distraction than watching the grass grow.
“I’m watching the instructor.” Grant gives me an odd look. “I’m wondering how I’m going to get my sorry ass into that pose.”
“Well, don’t look at her.”
He raises his eyebrows at me, and a smirk spreads across his face. “You like her.”
I snort at Grant’s words. “She’s a vegan princess who’s into yoga.”
I like the curve of Kayla’s ass; I like her spicy scent, and I liked the feel of her when she was in my arms the day she bumped into me.
But I don’t do liking women beyond that.
It doesn’t fit with my lifestyle. I’m married to the job, and there’s no room for relationships.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t spend some time with a beautiful woman when there’s an attraction between us.
My hip twinges as I move into the pose, but I ignore the ache and push onto my heels. The stretch goes all the way down my glutes and hamstrings, and it feels damn good to stretch this way.
Kayla moves around the class, checking everyone’s position. As she gets close to me, I purposefully drop my ass, making the pose incorrect.
I’m facing downward, and all I see are her legging-clad calves as she makes her way toward us.
Her scent reaches me before she does, tangy and spicy, and sweet.
Sandalwood. I swiped one of the candles from her class a few days ago so I could burn it in my room.
When I close my eyes, I can almost imagine she’s there with me.
Her bare feet come into view as she steps behind me.
“You need to lift your hips.” She places a hand on each hip and lifts me upward. Her touch is electric, and it heats me up from the hips to the chest, spreading warmth through my body and making my cock stir to life.
I resist the urge to spin around and take her in my arms. If only we were alone and not in a room full of veterans.
She steps away, and the moment’s gone, but the ghost of her touch lingers for a long time.
The class finishes, and I take my time rolling up my mat and returning it to the basket by the door. There are spare mats on the floor, and I roll those up too, all the while watching Kayla.
She stands by the door as the class files past. She has a smile for everyone and takes the time to speak to each person as they leave.
Finally, it’s just the two of us. She closes the door and turns, and is surprised to find me hanging back. Her eyes narrow, and she folds her arms across her chest, the good feeling going out of her.
“Can I help you with something?”
She’s wary of me, and I don’t blame her. I like to tease Kayla, but this cat-and-mouse game has gone on too long. It’s time to move this forward and explore this attraction between us.
I cross the yoga studio so I’m standing before her, with only inches between us. She sucks in a breath. Her lips part and her eyes dilate. I’m trained to notice details and interpret them, and what I’m getting is that Kayla is as attracted to me as I am to her.
“I want to take you out on a date.”
She eyes me suspiciously, but she’s not displeased. “Why do you want to do that?”
“Because I want to get to know you.”
She shakes her head. “I get it. You’re bored, and there aren’t a lot of women around.”
I capture her wrist in my hand. “It’s not that at all. I want to take you on a date because every time I’m around you, I can’t stop staring at your lips and wondering how you taste.”
“Oh.” Her mouth pops open.
“Let me take you out somewhere nice and afterward let me kiss you and find out what you taste like everywhere.”
Her eyes widen, and red creeps into her cheeks. “You’re very forward, aren’t you?”
I shrug. “I’ve learned to be in my line of work. You never know what’s coming tomorrow, so you better grab onto today.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” she murmurs. Then, she peers at me thoughtfully. “If I agree to go out with you…”
“You won’t regret it.” My gaze flicks to her lips, and I’m already imagining all the things I’m going to do to Kayla to give her a night to remember.
She shakes her head. “I was going to say if I agree to go out with you, I get to choose what we do for the date.”
She probably wants to make sure I take her to a vegan restaurant and not a rib joint. But she’s considering it, so I’ll agree to anything to get some time with Kayla.
“Fine with me.”
“And just because I agree to go out with you, doesn’t mean I’m going to…” She trails off, but this time I don’t finish the sentence for her. I want to hear her say it.
I raise my eyebrows, waiting.
Her gaze flicks downward over my body, and the blush deepens. “…let you taste me.”
Her wide eyes tell me otherwise. I don’t usually come on this strong, but I absolutely know in the depths of my bones that Kayla wants me as much as I want her. She either hasn’t figured it out yet, or she’s too polite to say it.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” I lean toward her and whisper in her ear, so my breath grazes the side of her neck. “I won’t taste you until you beg me to do it.”
She sucks in a breath, and through her thin yoga top her nipples harden to peaks. Her breathing is shallow, and I long to take her in my arms and kiss her. But I won’t touch her now. I’m a man of my word, and I won’t do anything unless she asks me to.
“So where am I taking you?”
She blinks quickly, as if remembering where she is. Her gaze darts to my lips, and if she wants me to kiss her, she’ll have to ask me for that as well.
“You promise that whatever I choose to do for the date, you’ll do it?”
I’d promise anything right now to get those lips on mine and her body underneath me. “I promise, sweetheart.”
My gaze resets on her lips, wondering what they’ll feel like when I finally get to kiss them.
“We’re going on a meditation retreat.”
Wait, what? Her words have my gaze flicking back to her eyes as a triumphant smile spreads across her face.
“A what?”
She pulls a flyer from her purse and shoves it at me. “It’s a two day retreat further up the mountain. Yoga and meditation and forest bathing.”
“Forest what?”
“Walking in the outdoors, getting back to nature.”
I take the flyer from her. I’ve seen it in the doctor’s office. He suggested mediation might be good for my recovery, but I told him there was no fucking way I was going to spend a day navel gazing.
“You want me to go meditate?”
She smirks. “You promised you’d do whatever date I wanted. This is it.”
She’s grinning like the cat that got the cream, and I wonder if she planned this with the doc. Because whichever way you look at it, I’ve been played.